Mariner 8

Launch data: Designation 71F04 Launch date 09 May 1971 Launch site CC, LC-36A Launch vehicle Atlas-SLV3C Centaur-D (AC-24) Satellite type - Mission Intended Mars flyby

Specifications: Prime contractor   Operator   Platform   Mass at launch 996 kg Dry Mass   kg Dimension Basic shape - Solar array   Stabilization   DC power

1 Jan 1971: Technicians at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory prepare Mariner 8 for launch.

Mission details:

• This was the first of two spacecraft in the Mariner Mars 71 project intended to orbit Mars for at least 90 days, gathering data on the Martian atmosphere and about 70 percent of the planet's surface.
• The launch vehicle malfunctioned. It carried its payload back into Earth's atmosphere and splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean about 560 km north of Puerto Rico.